Brake mechanism.



W. S. ADAMS` BRAKE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. 1913` Putentod Min". f, ESH.

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BRAKE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. |913.

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W. SA ADAMS.

BRAKE MECHANISM.

APPLmmoN FILED MAY 5, 19'.:

l, 1 76,263 Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

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W. S. ADAMS.

BRAKE MECHANISM.

APPLIcAloN mso MM5. 1913.

., 176,263. Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

WALTER S. ADAMS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOE TO THE J'. G. BRILL CO., OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

BRAKE MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

Application filed May 5, 1913. Serial No. 765,438.

7b all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER ADAMS, a citizen ofthe United States, and a resident of the city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invente certain new and useful I mprovements in Brake Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

The -object of my invention is to so nnprore the construction of car truck brake- Ishoe hangers and their immediately associated parts, particularly their connections with the truck frame and brakes/hoe andthe operating devices of the brake mechanlsm, that great Aflexibility in the accommodation of the hanger to the wheel and shoe-wear and the lengthwise ,thrust of the axle and wheels or ,transverse movement of truck frame will be scoured with economy and certainty/'of operation, and Without undue wear of parte.

, Another object of my .lmerltlqn 1S t0 maintain 'the 5h92 ndwheel `faces 1n parallelism, whereby the shoe and wheelwlll ,An e'mloodiment of my invention, by means of. which 12h95@ *and other results, is set forth in th@ following des'rcription.

My invention, therefore resides in the novel construction and combination of parts, and lthe various equivalent`eIn-hod1- ments thereof, as hereinafter set forth.

In the drawing,`forming part of this specification: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of'a car truck showing my improvements attached thereto; Fig. 2 1S an enlarged sectionalelevation taken approximately on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional elevation taken approximately on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, lookend views of the hanger head or upper truck casting, to which ,the upper end of the hanger is secured'; Figs. 7 and 8 are respectivelyside and end views of one of the brake shoe heads; Fig. 9 is a transverse I sectional elevation taken approximately on the line 9-9 of Fig. 7, looking in the direction .of thearrows; Fig. l0 is a like View taken approximately on the line`10-10 of Fig. 7, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 11 is a sectional elevation en'- larged with reference to Fig. l, taken approximately on the line 11--11 of Fig. 12, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 12 is a like view taken approximately on the line 12-12 of Fig. 1l, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 13 is a, sectional view of a portion of the live lever, brake head and -the parts connecting the same, the section beingr taken approximately 'on the line 13-13 of Fig. 14, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. -14 is a sectional elevation of the same parts, the section being approximately on the line 14-14 of Fig. 13, looking inthe direction of the arrows; and Fig. 15 is a face view of a portion of the brake head, partly in section, the view bein,l taken on the -line 15-15 of Fig. 14, loo ing in the direction of the arrows; Figs. 16 and 17 are respectively enlarged longitudinalV sectional views through the brake-head and brake shoe, showing the alternativel application of the same to the.. right and left-hand shoe head.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In Fig. 1 I have illustrated a portion of a truck .of conventional construction, to which the embodiment of my invention has been applied. Of course, it will be understood that my improvements in no manner relate to the construction of the atruck, and any suitable truck can be employed for the support of my brake mechanism. Describing the truck, as shown in Fig. 1,-the same consists of wheels 1, side trames` 2, transoms 3 to the upper webs 4 of which gusset plates 5 are secured, the gusset plates having flanges 6 secured to the side frames. The gusset plates have slots 7, through which the operating levers,`hereinafter to be described, pass. It will be understood that the wheels are provided .with axles and journals boxes, that the journal boxes are secured to the side frames and the truck otherwise constructed in conventional or desired manner. A i

1 have Shown my improvements with a brake apparatus of conventional construction, and while the same may be modified as desired, it consists of a live lever 8 the upper end of which passes through the slot7 .bracket v which is bolted to said gusset Links 11 'connect the dead lever and plate. bracket' 10,A said links being pivoted to t-he bracket by a pin 12 and tothe lever by a pinl 13. Instead of forming the live and dead levers substantially straight from end to end, I have provided each oneofthem -With an outwardly bent end14 and 15 respectively, the bent end 1-1 of the live lever 8 being connected with the mainv portion of the lever b y a flattened'section 16, so ,as to give this'section of the,l-ive lever, 'which has a greater movement than the dead lever, better bearing surface for contact witha compression spring carried by the brake head. The lower ends of.l the live and dead levers are connected by a conventionally constructed turn-buckle orl slack adjusting device comprising the barrels 17, 18, having bifurcated ends,'into which the ends 14, and 15 of the live and dead leVerSenter, the said l ends being pivotally connected by pins 19 and20, the barrels being connected by the threaded rod 21 provided with a nut 22 and )am nu-ts 23. l a The brake mechanism is shown in the released position, and it is of the kind known i' as the inside hung brake, in which the shoes the truck and which move inwardly uponI are supported Afrom the truck frame between p the wheels, and are spreadoutwardly or moved away from each other during their application to the tread of the wheels, and approach: each other upon lbeing released. Any ofthe improvements embodied in this construction may be used in connection with outside hung brake shoes, that is, wherein the brake shoes are hung from the ends of being applied. AIf desired, a brakebeam may be employed.

o My present embodiment is in a. pivotal truck. The transoms 3 shown in F 1g. 1 are used in connectionwith the truck bolster.

It is desirable that the hanging for the 7 shoes should have considerable flexibility in `its accommodation to the`wheel and shoe wear, and thelateral thrustl ofthe axle or transverse movement of the truck frame. It

is also desirable that the hanger be provided with means for etliciently taking up wear and preventing rattling Y and chattering. In prior devices in yvvhichkthese Aobject have been sought, and which are so designed that no undue resistance to. `the yapplication of the shoe to the wheel or its release wouldA be present, there hasl been .a tendency of the brake shoe to assume a position in which its face is not parallelwiththat of the tread of the wheel, thereby tending to produce unface 27 equal wear of the shoe on the wheel, and lack of maximum efliciency in the operation of the brake apparatus. iI believe that-the improvements made'by me and which will now be described, attain these desired results and avoid`the disadvantageous one/ At 24 are shown the brake'sh'oes which ofthe perforations 29 andthe perforation 31 and thereby locks the .brake shoe to the brake shoe head. By'providing the two perforations or openings 29and the enlarged perforation 31, it is possibleto always place the key 32 where it will be most effective, that is removed as faras possible .from the flange of the wheel to which the brake shoe is applied when the device is in use, and at the same vtime each head may berused on either side of the truck so that these parts are all interchangeable.

The shoe head immediately backiof the part 27 is solid, as at 34, and from this extends two webs 35 formingthe channel '86 between then1,' the webs terminating in a barrel orl socket 37, The livev and dead levers 8 and il extend through the channels 36 formed in each of the brake heads# `Above the webs 35 and at the back of the portion 27 isa segmental recess 38'formed partlyin the body of th'e head andi partly by the o utward'ly extendingflanges 39, which flanges have slots 4() formed 'th'ertiiitl The. segmental bearing surface 38 thus formed constitutes part of the flexible or articulated connection offthe brake shoe head I:with the hangers, which are to' e described. .l v For the support of t e upper'endsl of the hangers I employ twocastings generically numbered 41 shown enlargedin 'Figs 4,.:5 and 6. Theseeach comprise:aahorizontal top. web '42 provided witlrfholes- 42- by means of wlich?" the casting `is, Seei'lidto a gusset plate' 5, as shown in Fig'. 1,' or to any other appropriate part of the truck strncture; a pendant side 'web 43, and across web 44the crossweb being recessed or segmentally disposed topi-Ovide a segmental-them*- ing 45, inv whicha vertically disposedslot 4G is formed. i The kbracket also has -a strengtheninglange 47 following-the lineof the web 44. These castings orpbracketsform the upper bearing for thearticulated connection of the brake-shoe hanger. mk..

In order to provide for the desiredhmount of flexibility in the hanging of the-Shoe, each hanger comprises two links or .bars 48.

Many of the advantages derived from the construction of the hangers may be realized by the use of a single link or bar; but 1 prefer the employment of a pair, arranged or disposed parallel to each other for the following reasons: It a single link is used the shoe head could twist out of true with the wheel tread but two links form a parallel motion and compel the shoe and head to keep true with the wheel tread although the shoe and head can swing sidewise relatively to the truck frame and thus follow the side movement of the wheels and axles in the truck frame. Each link or bar has a strengthening rib 49 on one side which ex tends substantially between the flat heads 50 of the bal', the opposite 'faces of the heads being provided with conical lugs or projections 51. At 53 is a bearing block, which has an unbroken segmental surface 5l and an opposite {iat face In the iat face is formed a pair of segmental recesses 56, through which extend yapertures 57. Between the apertures an inwardly extending segmental recess 58 is formed. This bearing block is inserted in and lies within the recess 38 formed in the rear of the large front face 27 of the brake head 26, the recess being formed in part by the body of the head and the flanges 3S). The brake lever, be it either the live or dead levers 8 or 9, (the construction of the brake hanger being the same at both the live and dead lever ends) has secured thereto a knuckle 59 comprising the segmental head 60, flange 61 which bears against the face of the lever, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14 and flanges 62, which embrace the sides of the brake lever and to which the knuckle is secured by bolts or rivets 63. The head 60 of the knuckle is received within the recess 5S in the bearinrr 53. A spring 64 is inserted in the socket 37 and bears one end against the outer face of the lever, which face or edge might be the Hat face 16 of the lever 8 or the edge 65 of the lever 9 (Fig. 1l and the function of this spring is to pull the brake head to the level' with a yielding pressure just suticient to keep the brake head, bearing 5? and knuckle 59 in yielding frictional contact, so that there will be no lost motion between the parts, all wear therein will be autol'natically taken up, and'the spring 64 will also act to assist the release of the brake shoe from physical or frictional contact with the wheel.

The links or bars 4S are flexibly united respectively to the upper bearings 41. and to the brake head, as follows: At 66 are blocks or separate bearings corresponding in function and in general construction with the bearing blocks 53, they being made separate and spaced apart at the upper ends of the levers 8 and 9 in order to allow the upper ends of these levers to work properly. Each block 66 has a segmental bearing face 67, which bears against the bearing-surface. 45 of the bearing-brackets 41, and a conical recess 68 is formed into which the conical lugs 51 enter at the upper end of' the links 48. These lugs 51 do not of necessity have to be made conical. They may be cylindrical if desired. At 69 and 70 respectivel'vr are bolts having heads 71, 72, threaded ends 73 and 74, carrying set-up and locknuts 75, 76 respectively. The bolts 6%) serve to secure the links of the hanger bar and its pivotal and flexible connections to the brake shoe holders 26, and the bolts 70 secure these bars to their bearing brackets 41 in a like manne. As before stated, the bearing block 53 is provided with holes 57 and the bearing blocks 66 are likewise provided with holes which pierce them as do the holes 67 pierce the bearing block 53. At 77, 7 8 are'tiller blocks, which on their outer' faces are provided each with a recess to receive the heads `71 and 72 respectively of the bolts, and at their inner faces they are concaved or made to conform to the segmental configuration of the ianges 8i) on the brake head, and the segmental bearing web 44 of the brackets 41. The iiller blocks 77 and 7S are apertured and the bolts 69 and 70 respectively pass through them, the slots 40, 46, the bearing blocks 53, 66, the lugs 51, on the links 48, and the links. About each of the bolts are located springs 79, 86, the springs being received within the spring-cups S1, 82, the cups being held against longitudinal displacement by the nuts 75, 76, the cups giving protection to the springs against the influence of external causes. The nuts 7 5 and 76 provide for adjusting the tension of the springs and the frictional contact of the bearing block and hanger.

It will be seen that the springs at the upper and lower joints of the hangers keep the parts assembled in proper relation under a yielding pressure, thereby preventing rattling and automatically taking up wear. The stresses on the links or the hangers in the act of braking being in the direction of their length, the strain will be transferred to the brackets 41 and brake head through the lugs 51, and bearing blocks 53, 66, where the surfaces are curved and of considerable area, instead ot being imposed upon the bolts, whereby shearing strains on the bolts and undue wear of the parts are avoided. the bolts serving mainly for the purpose of keeping their associated parts properly united.

In applying the brakes, the greatest amount of swing is. of course, from the upper pivot, the bearing block 66 moving in its bearing and the filler blocks 77 traveling with the bolt and the bolt moving in the slot unrestrictedly, the parts being, during all this time, flexibly held together by the springs 79, each spring acting independnativ ot the other. The s rings 80 at the brake head eonnection andp the parts' asso- .ciated with them perform the same function, :is :shove described, and the frictional resistance set up at that joint serves to maintain the shoetin the. position in which 'xt has been set, thereby preventing any undue tilting of the Shoe upon its pivot and insuring a substantial concentricity between the shoe tace and wheel tread at he time ot the application of the brakes.

.lt is apparent that the connections of the hanger and the brake head afford an accessible ati-.il handy mea-ns for adjusting the brake. head on its pivot, when occasion ie qnires, in order to insure the concentric ap plication oi the shoe to the wheel. 'The links 48 a also adapted to swing bodil)Y upon their pivots transversely of the track and with a parallel motion. These pimts are the bolts 6). 170, and the hearings of the liars lu 32 in the bearing blocks i, (nl. 'lilifs lateral swinging motion may he brought aliout liv l' relative movement la ,ween the vdniels and axle and the truck trame. whirl] is mainlyy evidenced in the eration of the truck in entering` or leavff curves. The tlexihlejoints ot' the hanger furtherinfu'c provide efficient means for maintaining the hangers and shoes at the angles at. which they are set or hungr during the time that the truck inav be ascendinn or descending grades, thereby avoiding any rnnl'ff-rtent frictional Contact hv the shoes 'with the Wherls.

[i common trouble with lnanv forms of hraiw hasnzrrs is that they permit a twisting olj the Ural-:e shoe, that is one part of the liwiiohov comes partially in contact, with wheel iiefore the rest oi' the shoe so that Loriano undulv worn in a small limiting suri'aze and dws not www' w nl; nor does it Wear the tread of properly. l 1o fwnw'fith the structure made as lrffwheil when the same oiierates un- -w'nnlitifin rThe two parallel :me always force the hraln shoe to trier in any direction and with a meinem against the tread ol thel :lli-'ive described. 'l`wisting would lower end of one linl: to swings in :.lmnf'e ol its companionlink which rannol falta place as explained here.

lt i,-- li'pparent that many modifications iw :zzallc in the construction and arsarznifrnp. of the parts of'nnprising the horerihcd enihodinnnl. of my in- \..ihout departing from the spirit Hush a result is not' pivotally connectingI them7 and means carried by the brake shoe head for yieldingly uniting;r said lever and the brake head.

2. In a brake mechanism, the combination with a brake shoe head, a brake lever, a pivotal bearing between the lever and head and a spring engaging the brake lever for yieldinglv uniting the brake lever and brake shoe head.

3. In a brake mechanism, brake shoes, bra-ke heads to which said shoes are attached., brake levers resiliently secured to said brake shoe heads, pivots on said brake levers, a truck frame, hanger supports on said frame, pivots extended laterally` from the brake shoe heads, laterally extending pivots on the hanger supports. and brake hangers extending between the pivots on the shoe heads and the pivots on the hanger surpoids.

ln a brake mechanism. brake heads. a hrali'e lever. a segmental hearing block with a. segmental recess therein secured lo the brake lie-ad, a knuckle moving in said re cess in the hearing block and pivotally oonneetinp' the brake lever and brake head, a truck frame. hanger support-s on the truck trame. hearings on the brake shoe head, bearings on the hanger supports and a pair of hangers for each head connecting said bearings.

5. Inv a brake mechanism, brake Shoe heads, an upper support. hearings in Said upper support, brake hanger rods and means connecting said rods and said supports so that said rods may swing freely a limited amount in any direction, and means connerting said head with said rods so that when said rods swing the said head will al .vavs suing; with a parallel movement.

l. ln a brake mechanism. hractel, a ln'alte shot head. s. pair of hangar loris con` necting said bracket and head and connections between said rods and said bracket and head so that said head may swingT a limitt-d amount in any direction with a parallel movement.

7. In a brake mechanism, a hanger having' projections near each 'end and perforations through said projections, hearing' blocks engaging! each ol said projections, said hear-- ing: blocks having suitable perforations in line with the perfor-ations of said rods, seats with slotted openings for said hearing blocks. filler, blocks adjacent to said slots and holts passingn through said perforations, filler hloclisand slots.

S. ln a lirake mechanism, a hanger rod with integral projections and perforations through said projections, said perforations and projections being located near each. end thereof, recessed hearing blocks adapted to engage said projections and perforations through said hearing blocks in line with the porforations in said projections, slot-ted seats for said bearing blocks, filler blocks with perforations adapted to register with the slots in said seats, and also with said perforations, bolts passing through said filler blocks, slots, blocks and hanger projections and springs on said bolts so arranged and disposed as to keep said parts in proper frie- /tional contact one with another.

9. In a brake mechanism, a brake shoe head, a brake lever, a spring engaging said lever vior yieldingly uniting the same and the brake shoe head, and a pivotal bearing connecting the brake lever and brake shoe head.

10. In a truck brake mechanism, a seat for a bearing block, a pair of hangers, and a bearing block connecting said seat and hangers, said bearing block having one surface adapted to fit said seat and permit the hangers to swing longitudinally of the truck, projections on said hangers, and seats in said hearing block for said projections so that said hangers may swing transversely of the truck, and two resilient means for holding said seats, block and hangers in proper relation.

11. In a brake mechanism, af pair of hangers provided with projections near each end and perforations extending through said projections, two bearing blocks one at each end of said hangers, a bolt passing through each of .said perforations to secure the hangers and blocks together, and means for sup porting one of said bearing blocks so that the same can swing aboutl its longitudinal axis for a limited distance so that said hangers may swing both longitudinally and transversely of the truck.

l2. In a brake mechanism, a brake shoe head having two parallel webs, one end of each of said webs being united to the other .by a spring seat is formed, and a cylindrical web uniting their inner ends whereby con cave and convex bearings are formed on said last mentioned web.

I4. In a brake mechanism, a brake shoe head having a plurality of webs forming a, channel between them, a connection between the outer ends of said webs forming a cup, a lever, a sprino: in said cup pressing against said lever, and means connecting said brake shoe head and lever with a. fiexible connection.

15. In a brake mechanism, a brake shoe head having a pair of webs united at their outer ends by parts forming a. seat for a spring, and near their inner ends a suitable seat Vfor a bearing block, a bearing block in said seat, a lever with a knuckle secured thereto adapted to engage said bearing block, and a spring in said seat adapted to press said lever so as to force said knuckle into engagement with said bearing block.

16. In a brake mechanism, a brake shoe, a brake shoe head, a brake lever, means for pivotally connecting said brake lever and brake shoe h'ead andmfor yieldingly uniting said lever and the brake shoe head.

Signed at the city of Philadelphia, county of Philaulelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, this` lst day of May 1913.

WALTER S. ADAMS. lV itnesses:

HnNRY C. ESLING, II. F. MoKI'LLIr. 

